Charles Stuart : The Man Who Likes Watching

Charles Stuart has recently released his new album, The Man Who Likes Watching, on the Slowfoot label. Its a record of startling beauty with an immediate feel, an aura that you can feel right up close to. His voice is significant, and striking, as for all its warmth, tone and spirit, there is a subtlety as well a dynamism at work that sets the moods and equally guides the swings. Some resolve has clearly gone into pushing the musical boundaries here, as the organic and electronic flecks and splashes summon all the nuances of a kaleidoscope, tipping the mirrors and the balance just enough to push the forms in and out of shape, to keep you guessing just when you think you assume where Charles`s songs are taking you. Makes the mood and the vibe very interesting, different and not at all predictable without interupting the stream. I like that.

Charles is performing more gigs in London, and working with other projects, including stablemates Snorkel. I was fortunate to catch up with him and chew hard on the global fat...

So, Charles, hows things from where you are sitting?

Well....right now I'm sitting in the living room and its very peaceful. The sun is out the birds are singing and what would really top it off nicely would be a lovely cup of Cinnamon tea! The album has been out a few weeks now and we're steadily starting to gig the songs with a mostly new band. I'm feeling good about the way things are starting to sound. I guess you could say we're starting to sound a bit like a band!(lots of chin stroking) Oh, and my local football team were almost relegated but managed to stay up thanks to some divine intervention. All in all things are working out. But hey, they always do.... right?

Sounds all good Charles, tell me something about your background, your roots ?

I grew up one of eight children in Upton Park, East London. (this might give you a clue as to what my local football team is)

Yes indeedy, it has to be West Ham United.

My parents came to London in the late 50's early 60's from Dominica to live and work.
There was a fair sized West Indian community in East London in the 1970's, so there was always a generous helping of Reggae, Soca and Calypso in the air well as Soul, Funk, Jazz, and Rock.

One of eight, bet that was busy round the dinner table ?

Coming from a big family had its plus points ! It was generally a creative household so there was always something going on. My older brother was an actor, my younger sister was a dancer and we all brought different kinds of music into the house. I guess looking back that was where my appreciation and education started.

What instrument did you first learn Charles ?

Well. There was an old piano in the house, it was brought in for my younger sister to play but I think she was more interested in dance, So I decided to have a go. By this point I already had song ideas in my head, lyrics on paper and vocal ideas scattered around on old 90 minute cassettes. I started to try and learn some chords, concentrating closely on the white notes only and writing roughly 5 to 10 songs per new chord.

That`s prolific by most musicians standards, so who were your musical heroes or icons ?

There were so many heroes and icons; musical and otherwise. People who touched my life. Some who are no longer here, some who are still here and some who are not quite still here.

And what was your first band like ?

An absolute fucking mess.

Okay, brutal, but honest, I really can empathise with that first band description. So how did your musical path develop from there ?

Well.. you could say things took a turn! I decided that I wanted to do some form of musical study. I wanted to play with lots of different people, experience playing different styles of music and just focus on my level of playing.

Really, thats good to make that kind of conscious decision...

So I went down to Lewisham College of Music and met up with Dave Moses, the Head of Music there at the time. This was all very different for me. Intellectualizing the music wasn't something I was used to up to that point. I wasn't able to listen to or create music in that way. I found it all very interesting and stimulating.

Charles, you mentioned that your other brothers and sisters were into dance and acting, and there was a lot of different music in the house, what interested you about music in particular ?

The form, the shape, the content, the journey, the adventure, and the way I felt when something sounded sooo absolutely fucking amazing that I could just forget myself.

Yeah, you cant get that on prescription............ and it beats working for a living, doesnt it ? How did you get involved with Frank at the Slowfoot label ?

Frank and I were at Lewisham College of Music at the same time. We played in various college bands together and in one or two bands/projects outside college too. There were always musical projects floating around that we both seemed to be a part of. It was only really a matter of time before we started on a project that heavily involved my material and this particular project is what became 'The Man Who Likes Watching'

How was the process of making that album?

Exciting, anxious, frustrating, funny, scary, tiring, joyful, tedious, crazy, dark, merry and long.

Its beautiful that you can feel all those emotions when you are making music, isnt it ?What are your musical influences on your album ?

A whole mixture of stuff. I've always been heavily influenced by rhythmic/groove music like Reggae, Soca, Calypso and Jazz Funk through to Electro and Hip Hop. The groove is definitely important to and very evident across the album.

Yeah, the tracks I have heard have a definite feeling, vibe, a channel to them.

As is the slightly leftfield experimentation. We were beginning to improvise a lot more and I guess that we were looking for that happy medium somewhere between improvisation and set parts.

The experimentation for me really marked the tracks out when I first heard them, one of the things I picked up on early. What about your lyrics, because they stand out too ?

I've always been interested in manipulating words. Hearing Hip Hop for the first time was great. You could just put all these words together that didn't need to mean anything or make any sense just as long they rhymed. That really appealed to me in the same way Tom Waits drunken ranting or Joni Mitchell`s soothing voice appealed to me because they had a way of putting a line or a phrase across that would just break your heart.

Thats special when someone can do that. Do your paths cross with other Slowfoot artists ?

Sometimes, yes. Because Slowfoot is a small label most of the artists are also in house musicians so it means that there is a greater chance of you playing on another artists material. In addition there are a couple of other artists on the Label; 129 and Crackle who with a few of the other musicians and myself, make up another monstrosity called Snorkel. It all sounds somehow incestuous doesn't it ?

Its funny how its often the way, isnt it ? I have heard some Snorkel stuff, again, the experimentalism stood out, its more to the fore I felt than on your album. You mentioned you and the band are breaking in songs, getting used to each other, whats the set up ?

Live we have Frank on drums and samples, Kim on bass, Felipe plays guitar/effects, Ben on keys/samples and percussion. Oh, and myself on keys and vocals.

That sounds good, I am looking forward to hearing you at The Comedy in July. Lets go off piste a bit, just for the hell of it. What are your thoughts on the current Iraq War situation ?

My thoughts are pretty much the same as they always were. Put simply, greed is a very bad thing and greed on this scale where thousands of innocent people have been losing their lives over an extended period of time ? I can't think of a word to describe it really....

I know Charles, all I can think of is a crime, but Bush, Blair and the war mongers tend to have a big say in the enforcement of the law, and seem to make new ones at the drop of a Hijab, so that may not stick, but I believe its a crime all the same. Talking of Bush, who would you vote for in the US presidential elections ?

Well... Richard Pryor passed away recently so I'll have to get back to you on that one.

He sadly did, and what`s your eco-footprint looking like ?

I don't do too badly. There are a few things I could polish up on like eating less processed food, using less electricity and water wastage but generally I think I do my bit.

Thats gonna be big business soon, fines for not recycling are on the way. I read it in the paper, so it has to be true... don`t it ? How much TV did you watch as a kid ?

I watched far too much TV growing up. I would be sat in front of the screen for hours on end and I swear I was being hypnotized. I would come away from the screen with these messages in my head. I am so thankful that these messages were only telling me to go out and buy the latest and newest and most delicious chocolate bar....

Some might say that was still overt political brainwashing, you know ? How political should musicians/artists be ?

Thats a tough one... I can understand people getting annoyed when some superficial pop star decides that its his or her job to tell them who to vote for. But if any musician or artist is in a position where he or she can shed light on or raise the profile of a particular cause directly or indirectly then I think that should be welcomed.

He isnt a musician or an artist, but do you think the Australian Prime Minister was right to order their cricket team not to tour Zimbabwe ?

I didn't even know about this. I was going to say that I don't follow cricket anymore but this is about politics is it not?

Yeah, to do with the rule of despot Robert Mugabe and his ruling ZANU-PF Party

I guess the question is when does Sport become political ? And do Sportsmen have a conscience ? I think by all accounts Mr Howard did the right thing.

Yeah, I agree with you Charles, I think if you have that platform, then use it positively. Are there any more drugs you feel should be legalised ?

I think I'll abstain from answering this question as the only drug habit I ever had was my non usage.

What have been the greatest moments in the life of Charles Stuart ?

(1) Making it into the starting eleven of the St Johns Under-12s football team.
(2) Being kissed by Tracey Pooley behind the school hall.
(3) Saving up enough money from my job at the dry cleaners to buy my first keyboard.
(4) Watching the sun go down above the Caribbean Sea from the balcony of my mothers house in Canefield, Dominica.
(5) Any really good party where the music was so good I just wasn't able to stop dancing, regardless of how tired I was.

They sound like some fantastic experiences, were they in any order ?..... No ? Ok, lets move on. Identity and multi culturalism are some words that people throw into the hat when describing England, what encapsulates, or sums up `Englishness` for you ?

One image that always stays with me is the Prince Charles and Lady Diana wedding.
I must've been about 12 at the time and couldn't really get my head around all this
fuss..

Snap Charles, snap (shaking my head wearily), I remember thinking exactly the same !

It just didn't interest me. But my Mum decided it was all very important and that the family should sit and watch the whole thing on TV. I kept trying to figure out what relationship me and my family from the Caribbean had with the Royal family and why we were watching this.

Well, its a fair question though.......

My parents weren't English and at the time I was very confused as to where I came from and where I was suppose to fit in. Today of course there are many different things that I would call, or associate with being, 'English', and a lot of those things originate from other cultures.

Good point, we did like to put ourselves about a bit, whether the indigenous peoples liked it or not..

So whether its tea, jerk chicken, fish and chips, the Notting Hill Carnival, a round down the pub, rice and peas or Roots Manuva, for me these things have all come together somehow under the banner of 'Englishness'.

When Global Warming makes it too hot and necessary, what will your Eco-Shelter contain to get you through............?

I'll probably be flying with the angels by then, but if by chance I'm still around and this Eco-Shelter is big enough then I'll have a piano, one or two good books, including the bible, I always wanted to read that one, water and some dry food.

Do you have an opinion on the recent The Cutty Sark bonfire - should tax payers money be spent on rebuilding it ?

I have fond memories of school trips and of fun days out visiting this old ship down in Greenwich and I really don't know how something like this happens or is allowed to happen. Would it have happened in another country? I'm not so sure. And as for tax payers money being spent on it, shouldn't English Heritage be footing the bill?

Its a little hazy as to where the money is coming from, I hope it was insured. Do Premier League footballers piss you off ?

Only the ones who don't play for West Ham United. Other than that most of the players at the bigger clubs do need a bit of a reality check from time to time.

The reality TV show Big Brother could be seen as a defining set of images and values of our culture - what do you think ?

I think we are all doomed.

(laughing) Does Myspace work for you ?

I'm not really sure yet. I guess it means that I have to spend a little more time in front of a computer than I had to spend when I never had a Myspace. I guess its just one more thing....

And finally Charles, having just talked about Myspace, its traditional this question; The Devil, is he all bad ?

I want to say no.

Good man, thats good. You are saying no....... arent you ? So what plans do you have for the coming year ?

Try to stay healthy, try to be as polite as I can to everyone that I meet, try not to go mad and get a dog.

And there we break off, spit out the husks and go our seperate ways. Charles has a couple of London gigs coming up 21st June at Leonards, 42 Northampton Road, London EC1 and on July 17th at The Comedy, Leicester Square, London. As your friendly attorney, I strongly advise you to buy the album The Man Who Likes Watching. Available from Slowfoot and all the good music vendors and a fair sprinkling of so-so outlets too.
All undertaken with zero stress and a slack bowline.
Many thanks to Charles Stuart and Frank Byng @ Slowfoot

 

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